Many companies now employ interactive-voice-response (IVR) systems to handle incoming calls. IVR systems typically answer telephone calls and present to the callers a series of audible menus of selectable options. Callers make menu selections by either depressing a keypad key to transmit a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tone or speaking a response or command understood by the IVR system. Following user selection of a menu item, a new menu of selectable items may be presented based on the prior selection. In order to reach a desired location within the IVR system or perform a particular operation, the user may be required to listen to and select from several levels of menus. IVR systems have become ubiquitous as companies can reduce operating costs by using IVR systems to reduce the number of human operators required to handle incoming calls. Modern IVR systems allow a user to perform a variety of operations without the need to ever speak to a human operator.
However, from the caller's perspective, interaction with IVR systems tends to be a frustrating process. The primary complaint is the time required to listen to lengthy menus and the number of levels of menus which must be navigated to perform a desired operation. Users may be particularly frustrated when a user simply desires to talk to a human operator and the IVR system is of sufficient complexity that it is difficult to reach a human operator, requiring the user to waste time navigating the menu hierarchy system. Where a menu is particularly lengthy, the user may not remember all of the options and may often need to repeat the entire menu. If a user makes an incorrect selection, the user must backtrack to the prior menu. In cases where the IVR systems requests the user input information such as an account number, the user may not have the information handy or may incorrectly input the information.
As a result, improved methods and apparatuses for navigating interactive voice response systems are needed.